Seriously, the legislators know that once a year they will hear from a group of riders that are passionate about maintaining their rights, both as motorcyclists and citizens. They know quite a few by name as our members stay in contact with their individual legislator throughout the year. We have been called the greatest, most powerful grass roots lobby organization in the State. We have had many victories over the years. From the repeal of the discriminatory add on motorcycle registration fee that called upon two wheel enthusiasts only to aid in funding spinal cord injury research to beating the many attempts to force mandatory helmet usage upon us.

We have accomplished this with dedication to the cause at hand. There is truth in the saying strength in numbers. There are people willing to spend a day at the Statehouse for the right to stand up and be heard. This is not only needed for motorcyclists. It is needed for all citizens. Assaults on our rights don’t only come from our states, they come from our federal government as well. We are being slammed in Washington right now and we need to stand up and be heard there as well.

On two levels I urge you to get involved. As a motorcyclist, join your state motorcyclist rights organization. Also join the AMA and / or the MRF. Just because you don’t live in DC and can’t lobby in person does not mean your voice can’t be heard. That is what the AMA and MRF are all about. They maintain a daily presence inside the beltway on our behalf. As a citizen, write and call your legislator on issues that you want heard. We put them there and they are supposed to work for us. We need to do our best to keep them honest and sitting back watching TV and complaining is not the answer. Keep them on their toes and let them know that you expect them to do the job you hired them to do. We need to take America back!

STAND UP AND BE HEARD MOTORCYCLE NATION

Indiana State Police Electra Glides provided escort.

Whoever ordered the weather up for this ride did well but could have turned the temperature dial back about 10 degrees. I am not sure how many miles were covered as I left after the second stop so I could get back to Indy in time to see the Colts preseason game. The two stops that I did make were Milan and Madison. Milan is famous for their 1954 winning of the state high school basketball championship. The small town team beat the largest high school powerhouses that year and was the team behind the movie Hoosiers. The second stop that I made was in Madison, a really neat town on the Ohio River that looks across into Kentucky. This town also has a famous side as it is the host of the Madison Regatta, a hydroplane racing event held annually on the river.

Ohio River at Madison, IN

Riding with the Governor is free and we had over 400 waivers signed for the ride. If you are in the Hoosier state I encourage you to come out next time and ride with us. No matter what your political party of choice is, it is encouraging to have a rider in charge. The motorcycle rides that the Governor puts on are about motorcycle awareness and when a reporter questioned him on Friday about helmets he made a great statement. He told them that he chooses to always wear a helmet but that education, not mandatory helmet laws is what will save lives. Way to go Governor!

Staging at the State Capitol building.

The followers in this fight usually take one of two stances. Stance 1 is when they sit back and say that no matter what you do you can’t fight government. You will never win. Stance 2 is when they take the attitude that the next guy will stand up and fight for them so they don’t have to. Either way, they are among the loudest voices in the crowd whining about the problem but never have any intention of trying to be a part of the solution. If you are a follower, let me speak directly to you. There is strength in numbers and you can fight the government and win. Case in point. Indiana enacted a law in 2007 that allowed an additional fee above and beyond the normal administrative and licensing costs associated with putting your motorcycle on the road. This fee added $10 per motorcycle registration in the state and was to be used to fund research for spinal cord injuries. The legislature grossly assumed that motorcyclists were overly represented in this area due to motorcycle accidents. The fact that Indiana does not require helmets for anyone over 18 (unless on a permit) and the fact that they are defeated nearly every year on the issue may have played into this decision as well.

You can surely guess what kind of response this was met with in the Indiana motorcycle nation. We did not appreciate being discriminated against in this fashion. Had these people mistakenly overlooked the skateboarders, bicycle riders, athletes, skiers, and others that are afflicted with this injury or was there malicious intent to single out the “no helmet wearing bikers”? This bill passed as a rider on the state budget that passed merely minutes prior to the close of the session. It was added after it failed to ride the back of another bill (which ABATE of Indiana helped squash) but could not stop the state budget. We were disappointed but we vowed to win in 2008.

ABATE of Indiana holds an ABATE day at the Statehouse where we lobby our legislators on issues coming up in session. This is normally held in January or February and we have members sign up and spend the day at the capitol building. 2008 was the largest turnout that we ever had! Motorcyclists were passionate about this issue and it showed. During the year, ABATE of Indiana Executive Director Jay Jackson worked with Governor Mitch Daniels’ office to discuss this matter with the bill author, Representative Carolene Mays. ABATE members had called her office and written letters and emails to her as well and she had agreed to approach the appropriate committee during this session and ask for a modification. We agreed that there was a need for the research to be funded and that a more fair approach would be to add a $.50 fee to all motor vehicle registrations rather than singling out the two wheeled crowd. Besides, this would raise a much larger total.

There were people there on both sides of the issue at the committee meeting which was held in a small committee meeting room in the basement of the state capitol. There were enough motorcyclists there that we spilled out into the outer foyer area and even out into the main hallway. How could they resist? Needless to say, the Hoosier motorcycle nation is no longer handcuffed by an unfair, discriminatory fee.

In summary, strength in numbers. Next time your local, state, or federal government tries to tread on you, get off your lazy rear ends and stand up for yourself. If you are not an ABATE or other state motorcyclist rights organization member, I urge you to make that your first step off the couch and join up. Don’t forget, there are brain dead legislators in Washington too so throw a little money to the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (http://mrf.org) or the American Motorcyclist Association (http://ama-cycle.org). Get off the couch. You enjoy the victory when we win so earn your piece of the victory!

……you gotta fight…for your right… to paaarrrrrrttaayy!!!!!

Steve “Bullitt” McQueen